Digital Commons Network^™

Into A Wild New Yonder: The United States Air Force And The Origins Of Its Information Age, Robert Howard Lass

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force is an organization operationally focused on gathering, processing, and utilizing vast quantities of information, so much so that it added "cyberspace" to its core missions of air and space in 2005. Service leaders have argued that a USAF information revolution - its entrance into the "Information Age" - began as early as the first computers in the 1940s or as late as the proliferation of networks in the 1990s. Upon close inspection, however, it becomes clear that such assertions overlook decades of information operations and management, and overemphasize the concept of a single information age. …

An Assessment Of Injury Presentation To Determine Elder Abuse Prevalence In South Carolina, Brittani L. Harmon

Theses and Dissertations

As the number of individuals age 60 years of age and older continues to rise in the United States, the care and safety of this population will be a growing issue. There are many contributing factors and reasons why elder abuse occurs. Elder abuse is an emerging issue; however there is limited research and understanding in the area. There are barriers to the detection and prevention of the issue. Emergency department staff is essential to the identification and detection of possible abuse, and it is important that these providers understand the risk factors and physical manifestations of abuse and neglect …

Protecting The Sanctity Of Human Life: The Catholic Church & Her Relationship With Hiv/Aids Prevention, Emma Joanne Burke

Master's Theses and Capstones

Though prevention is the most stressed component of the global fight against HIV/AIDS, global agreement regarding the most successful prevention method does not exist. For example, the majority of the medical and scientific community agrees that condoms and other safe-sex practices are the key to reducing the number of HIV transmissions, while the Catholic Church and her ranking officials claim that abstinence and monogamy are the only moral solutions.

This Thesis examines the policies of the Church, including her dedication to the protection of the sanctity of human life, in an attempt to determine if the Church's words are shaping …

Policing Alcohol And Related Crimes On Campus, Andrea Nicole Allen

Theses and Dissertations

Research shows that college students drink alcohol frequently and heavily. This can compromise their health and well-being. Student drinking is also tied to crime. While prior work explores the nature and extent of crimes involving alcohol on campus, to date no study has examined how police handle these incidents or crime generally. This study fills that gap in the literature. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected by observing and interviewing campus officers at a large Southeastern university as they navigated through encounters with citizens. Findings include the following. Officers handle a variety of crimes, and do not have a single-faceted …

Putting Place Back Into Displacement: Reevaluating Diaspora In The Contemporary Literature Of Migration, Christiane Brigitte Steckenbiller

Theses and Dissertations

In order to improve the engineering properties of soft soils, materials, such as cement and fiber, can be introduced to the soil mass. Currently, design criterion for a cement-soil mixture requires only the measurement of unconfined compressive strength. This simple measurement may not be adequate to describe the behavior that results from differing field loading conditions. A series of consolidation tests and unconfined compression tests were conducted with special attention being paid to the effects of curing time and vertical curing stress. It is shown that the introduction of cement into soft soils results in decreased compressibility and increased unconfined …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of Gordon Allport's Contact Hypothesis Ability To Increase Cultural Openness In First Year College Students, David Alan Kahn

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to test Gordon Allport's theory of Contact Hypothesis about cultural attitude change in college students. Participants were college First year students participating in First year seminar classes in a small southeastern liberal arts university. The treatment group of randomly selected First year seminar classes was exposed to a one-week seminar designed to address the issue of cultural diversity. A non-treatment group received the standard instruction on this issue. The content of the seminar included exposure to multicultural issues that include Allport's most important tenants for changing prejudicial attitudes. For this study components of Allport's …

A Constructivist Examination Of Counselors' Conceptualization Of "Sexuality": Implications For Counselor Education, Wenndy Dupkoski Mallicoat

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the dialectical dilemma between meeting the demands of the managed health care industry through the adherence to the medical model while promoting an emphasis on wellness, the counseling profession does not promote a consistent definition of sexuality. Using a qualitative, phenomenological approach from a constructivist lens, this study was conducted to examine the construct "sexuality" and "sexuality counseling" from counselors' perspectives. One synchronous online focus group and two online individual interviews were conducted with counselors predominantly in the Southeastern United States. Themes from the data include: Sexuality is multi-dimensional; sexuality is developmental; sexuality counseling is dialectical; and sexuality …

The Aesthetics Of City Strolling, Heinz Paetzold

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

No abstract provided.

Exploring Detracting Elements And Coping Mechanisms Reported In Four Trails Along The Going-To-The-Sun Road Corridor In Glacier National Park, Diana Maritza Bedoya

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The results of the ongoing study to monitor visitors use, and the shuttle experience in Glacier National Park demonstrate that use levels in the park have increased considerably. Thus, it was pertinent to evaluate to which extent the conditions on the trails are so undesirable or unexpected for visitors that they would usually employ coping responses to deal with those situations. This research was structured to provide a description of the salient setting attributes and personal factors associated with the identification of the detracting elements of the recreational experiences, and types of coping mechanisms usually used. The study reported here …

A Comprehensive Literature Review Of American Sexual Assault Culture And The Status Of Women's Self-Defense, Jennifer Ann Just

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

According to the National Organization for Women (NOW), 232,960 American women were raped or sexually assaulted in 2006, equating to more than 600 women daily (2012). American women furthermore experience about 4.8 million intimate partner-related physical assaults and rapes each year (NOW, 2012). Violence toward women is also evident on American college and university campuses. The U.S. National Institute of Justice (NIJ), for example, states that 35 of every 1,000 female students are victims of rape—either completed or attempted—in a given nine-month academic year (National Institute of Justice, 2005). With more than 600 women being raped daily, the pervasiveness of …

"You Is The Church": Identity And Identification In Church Leadership, Megan E. Gesler

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Churches provide a structured medium for human spiritual experiences (Ammerman, 2005) and as such are structured around a set of organizationally unique purposes and beliefs. This research project focuses on the leadership teams of a start-up church organization founded in Denver, CO. Guided by Structuration Theory (Giddens, 1984), Communicative Constitution of Organization through the Four Flows (McPhee & Zaug, 2000), and Organizational Identification (Scott, Corman, & Cheney, 1998), the bi-directional relationship between leaders and the organization was qualitatively examined and analyzed. Specifically, membership negotiation is seen through the constructs of formal structure and identity. The negotiation process was evident in …

‘Planting The Seeds Of Educational Change’ Indigenous Voices, Multicultural Education, And The Us Democratic Ideal, Miranda Crystal Laber

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

‘Planting the Seeds of Educational Change’ Indigenous Voices, Multicultural Education, and the US Democratic Ideal An Exploration of the Potential Roles and Influences of Indigenous Voices in Education on Collective Perceptions of Truth and Democracy

Assessment Of Public Land Values And A Comparison Amongst Nonresident Outdoor Recreationists In Montana, Megan Michele Tanner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Recent data shows that three quarters of nonresident vacationers to Montana are primarily attracted to characteristics of public lands such as national parks, mountains and forests, and open space. Thirty-five percent of Montana is public land, therefore understanding what values those visitors have for these public lands is very important and has not been analyzed in previous research. This study used panel survey methodology to identify a set of respondents who are not Montana residents but have visited the state. One component of the study used Borrie, Freimund, and Davenport’s National Parks Values Scale and Winter’s Natural Area Values Scale, …

Chronic Trauma Effects On Personality Trait Trajectory In Police Officers, Jennifer Leigh Wills

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The impact of chronic trauma exposure on personality trajectories over time was examined in a sample of urban police officers. Scores from a personality measure taken in pre-hire psychological evaluations were compared with follow up scores administered for this study five to ten years later. An urban police agency of approximately 1000 commissioned police officers agreed to allow its officers to be recruited as participants. The consulting psychologist who performed the agency’s pre-hire psychological evaluations during the applicable period supplied historical data with participant consent and agency approval. Personality change between the two times was analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis, …

Motivation And Education: Performance, Commitment, And Satisfaction Among Pharmacy Students, Michael Dustin King

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study examines the relationship between academic motivation and three different educational outcomes: academic performance, commitment, and satisfaction. This research explores these relationships by focusing on pharmacy students at The University of Montana. Pharmacy students tend to be driven by relatively high levels of external motivations (e.g., motivated by money or prestige), especially when compared to other health profession students. In contrast to previous work that simply describes the motivations of students, I uncover the links between motivation and various educational outcomes. This investigation contributes to a better understanding of motivations and their impact on education, especially among the specific …

Keep Calm And Carry On: An Examination Of Outcomes Following Single-Session Mindfulness Meditation Training, Melissa Stiksma

Harriet L Wilkes Honors College Theses 2010 - 2019

Mindfulness involves nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment. Previous research has found that higher levels of mindfulness are positively associated with adaptive psychological outcomes and negatively associated with maladaptive outcomes. We examined the effects of a 55-minute mindfulness training session comprised of psychoeducation and meditation. Questionnaires measuring mindfulness, emotion regulation, stress, anxiety, social behavior and emotion, and mood were administered pre and post session and at one week follow-up. Consistent with hypotheses, mindfulness and social behavior and emotion increased from pre-session to one-week follow-up and difficulties in emotion regulation, negative mood, and perceived stress significantly decreased. These findings suggest that …

The United States Forest Service: A Qualitative Study Of Employees And The Impacts Of Collaboration, Sandra Kay Treadaway

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Social changes over the past several decades have led to an increase in legislation mandating public participation in public land management. Like most legislation there were no specific requirements on how to achieve this mandate which left the decision up to federal agencies. For the United States Forest Service, public participation models have not been overly successful. The conflict has affected both the public and USFS employees. The latest model of public participation is collaboration. For this study collaboration was compared to deliberative democracy. Deliberative democracy shares many of the same characteristics as collaboration and the theory was used to …

Investigating Virtual Worlds, Patricia D. Sobczak

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The global phenomena of online gaming engages millions of people, some playing over 45 hours a week - the equivalent of a second full-time job. Our children are logging over 10,000 hours of gaming time before they are 21 years old; the equivalent of the time children spend in formal classrooms from grades five through 12. Players in one of the most popular online games have logged over 5.3 million years of play time since 2004.

These statistics show that virtual worlds, including online games, have become an important component of modern culture, but their impact on society has yet …

The Archaeological Investigation Of Cedar Bark Basket Trees In Western Montana: Background, Methods, And Trial Study Of Culturally Modified Trees, Dean Sonneah Nicolai

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis explores the potential for archaeological investigations of culturally modified trees (CMTs) in the northern Rocky Mountain region of Western Montana. Culturally modified trees are considered to be living artifacts, representations of traditional culture, and a lasting physical manifestation of long term use by inhabitants. The goal of this thesis is to offer an archaeological perspective for investigation of cultural modifications of the cedar basket tree (Thuja plicata), and to contribute to the development of a method for inquiry and analysis. Two primary research questions were posed: How does the study of behavioral archaeology and the methodological approach presented …

The Ethnography Of On-Site Interpretation And Commemoration Practices: Place-Based Cultural Heritages At The Bear Paw, Big Hole, Little Bighorn, And Rosebud Battlefields, Helen Alexandra Keremedjiev

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Using a memory archaeology paradigm, this dissertation explored from 2010 to 2012 the ways people used place-based narratives to create and maintain the sacredness of four historic battlefields in Montana: Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument; Nez Perce National Historical Park- Bear Paw Battlefield; Nez Perce National Historical Park- Big Hole National Battlefield; and Rosebud Battlefield State Park. This research implemented a mixed-methods approach of four data sources: historical research about on-site interpretation and land management of the battlefields; participant observations conducted during height of tourism season for each battlefield; 1,056 questionnaires administered to park visitors; and 32 semi-structured interviews with …

The Last Conservationist: Floyd Dominy And Federal Reclamation Policy In The American West, Ian Robert Stacy

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Historians of the American West have long identified the federal government's important role in shaping the region's physical and social landscapes, especially concerning water development. The Bureau of Reclamation, which built most of the West's major dams and water projects, traces its origins back to the 1902 Reclamation Act and since then has seen its share of political upheavals and colorful personalities. But one figure towers over all: Floyd Dominy, who served as commissioner from 1959 to 1969. By following the career of this one influential bureaucrat from the Great Depression to the end of the Great Society, I show …

Three Facets Of Pau Casals' Musical Legacy, Silvia Maria Lazo

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Pau Casals (1876-1973, better known to American audiences as Pablo Casals) was a notable Catalan cellist, conductor and composer, also widely known as a humanitarian. He was raised in El Vendrell, a small village in Catalonia (Spain). He went into exile in Prades, France in 1939, towards the end of the Spanish Civil War, subsequently relocating to Puerto Rico in 1957. In October 1945, following the end of World War II, the lack of Allied intervention in Spain ignited Casals' international artistic boycott, wherein Casals vowed not to perform in any country recognizing General Francisco Franco's regime. To date, a …

Surviving Probation: The Challenges Sexual Offenders Are Faced With In Mainstream Society, Krystal Stevenson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

"Society sees us [sexual offenders] as terrible people. Either lock us up or kill us. They don't want us in their community." Sexual offenders are seen as some of the most repulsive criminals through society's eyes. The term "sexual offender" encompasses many different types of people with regards to their crime, but society sees all sexual offenders as child molesters. This causes an over-whelming problem for sexual offenders, specifically in terms of housing, since there are many restrictions on where they can live. Legislation is implementing housing restrictions to prevent these criminals from re-offending, but in some cases, it can …

Risk And Response In Fracturing Policy, Hannah J. Wiseman

University of Colorado Law Review

An oil and gas extraction technique called hydraulic fracturing (also called fracing, fracking, or hydrofracking) has swept the country and has raised the stakes of the energy policy debate. As operators drill thousands of new wells and inject water and chemicals down these wells in order to fracture underground shale and tight sandstone formations, concerned citizens' groups and the media have pointed to flaming tap water and have worried about chemical contamination; at the same time, industry representatives and many state regulators have sworn that the practice has never contaminated groundwater. The outpouring of attention to injection-just one stage of …

Death Eligibility In Colorado: Many Are Called, Few Are Chosen, Justin Marceau, Sam Kamin, Wanda Foglia

University of Colorado Law Review

This Article reports the conclusions of an empirical study of every murder conviction in Colorado between January 1, 1999 and December 31, 2010. Our goal was to determine: (1) what percentage of first-degree murderers in Colorado were eligible for the death penalty; and (2) how often the death penalty was sought against these killers. More importantly, our broader purpose was to determine whether Colorado's statutory aggravating factors meaningfully narrow the class of death-eligible offenders as required by the Constitution. We discovered that while the death penalty was an option in over 90% of all first-degree murders, it was sought by …

Trans Women And Aging: A Qualitative Study, Martha B. Leighton

Master's Theses and Capstones

Data from interviews with 11 transgender women ages 55 to 77 were used to examine the experiences of gender-diverse individuals throughout the lifespan. Specifically, qualitative methods were used to examine how participants had experienced discrimination, developed strengths and resiliencies as a response to discrimination, and employed strategies predicted by Hobfoll's Conservation of Resources Theory. Focused coding of the data revealed significant and pervasive discrimination in multiple settings and throughout the participants' lives. The data also, however, revealed a wide range of strengths and resiliencies and indicated that participants employed a variety of strategies that allowed them to amass, maintain, and …

'We The Peoples': The Global Origins Of Constitutional Preambles, Tom Ginsburg, Nick Foti, Daniel Rockmore

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

No abstract provided.

Preparing For The Crossfire: Equipping Evangelical Leaders For Service In Public Schools, Gary F. Sehorn Dr.

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

This article addresses the preparation and support needed by evangelicals who serve as administrators and teacher leaders in public school settings. Educational leadership is lonely, demanding, and draining. This article explores the unique challenges evangelical leaders face because of the ongoing conflict between conservative Christians and public schools. Work-related conflicts that evangelicals experience in the workplace due to faith and the cultural dynamics that fuel this conflict are described. Strategies are proposed for Christian colleges and universities to prepare school leaders for the cultural crossfire.

Representing The Poor Legal Advocacy And Welfare Reform During Reagan's Gubernatorial Years, Mark N. Aaronson

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Neuroscientists In Court, David L. Faigman, Owen D. Jones, Anthony D. Wagner, Marcus E. Raichle

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.